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Daphne Disaster

Mitchell Library, The Bailie

An illustration from the Bailie, 11 July 1883, showing the 500-ton coaster Daphne lying on her side after she capsized in the River Clyde on 3 July. The caricature (top right) is of Alexander Stephen (1833-1899) of Alexander Stephen & Sons.

The Daphne was built at Stephens' Linthouse Shipyard. 124 men and boys were killed when the ship capsized immediately after the launch. Most were trapped beneath the deck, drowned in the river, or struck by flying debris as the vessel foundered.

The instability of the ship, caused by flaws in the design and by the congregation of a large number of people and loose equipment and materials on the deck, was subsequently found to have caused the disaster. The ship was subsequently recovered from the river, repaired, and renamed the Rose.